tom_munson_story_vietnam

Chapter 1 -6-
He knew there was something he had to do with his life,
but what? The Vietnam War convulsed the country then,
and he enlisted. He knew his parents loved him by the worry
hidden in their eyes.
“Won’t be the same without you,” his dad said. “Maybe
we’ll sell the farm and move to Florida.”
He reached Vietnam on January 13, 1968 and was sent to
Cu Chi, the base camp of the 25th Infantry Division. There
Tom drove an armored recovery tank in a convoy to
another base camp called Tay-Ninh along the Cambodian
border.
When they reached base camp, Tom entered a hooch,
looking for a place to shave and clean off the filth from his
days of travel. Inside he found a young soldier cleaning his
weapon and asked if he could borrow a basin to clean up.
“Been here long?” Tom inquired.
“Too long,” was all the soldier said, as he handed Tom a
basin. Tom went outside to wash up for chow with his buddies.
Although they were vulnerable to mortar attack, they
were glad to be in a place that was relatively secure. Suddenly,
a rifle shot scattered the tired men.
“Sniper! Run for cover!”
Tom and several others ran inside the hooch where a
gruesome sight stunned them.
“Ain’t no sniper. That guy killed himself!”
Republished by Witnessing Made Easy 2018